The Sewannee Mountain Grotto won the Conservation Award this year at convention 2009.

Picture by: Cheryl

Picture by: Mark O.

Picture by: Cheryl

Orme Mountain Road cleanup details:
The watershed along Orme Mnt Road goes directly into Russel Cave. The town of Orme receives their water supply from this watershed. In 2006 and 2007 Sewanee Mountain Grotto organized massive cleanup efforts and had signs posted stating the beginning of Russel Cave Watershed.

How much was cleaned up?

20 tons of trash
400 tires
29 gas tanks
3 rusty stain cans

SMG continues to conduct ridge walks to discover new caves as well as survey existing and new caves in the TAG area.

Survey projects are open to all grotto members and hands on training is provided. At the heart of our survey projects are the Psycho Survey Bitches and Our Entourage of Manly Men.

The Psycho Survey Bitches won a silver medal in the survey competition at the 2009 International Congress of Speleology !!

Grotto meetings occur once a month, on the second Saturday. Meeting places change from month to month.

Registration Open from 12 Noon (Central Time) on Thursday until 5pm on Saturday

Children under 18 will not be admitted without adult supervision.

Adult and children 13+ registration includes guidebook.

Where is it??? SERA is being held on private property, so the place doesn’t have an official name. (It’s the same place the Thunder on the Rock music festival and motorcycle rally is held each year.)

Latitude/longitude (decimal degrees): 35.29306 -85.77224

From Chattanooga:

I-24 West towards Nashville

Exit at Monteagle #135
Turn right at end of ramp
Go 0.5 miles and turn right on Hwy 41 south (toward Tracy City, Altamont, Fall Creek Falls)
Go 2 miles and turn left on Summerfield Road (NOT Summerfield Cemetery Road, which you will pass along the way)
Go 2.8 miles and turn right (at a T) on Clouse Hill Road
Go 1.3 miles and turn left on Brawley Road (gravel)
Follow road to the gate

From Nashville:

I-24 East towards Chattanooga
Exit at Monteagle #134
Turn right at end of ramp (cross back over 24)
Go approximately 0.75 miles and turn left on Hwy 41 south (toward Tracy City, Altamont, Fall Creek Falls)

Go 2 miles and turn left on Summerfield Road (NOT Summerfield Cemetery Road, which you will pass along the way)
Go 2.8 miles and turn right (at a T) on Clouse Hill Road
Go 1.3 miles and turn left on Brawley Road (gravel)
Follow road to the gate

Organized cave trips as well as self-guided trips will be available.
(Of course WNS guidelines will be followed.)

Cumberland Caverns and Raccoon Caverns wild cave trips are being planned. Cumberland, Raccoon, and Ruby Falls commercial tours are also available

(preliminary listing - subject to change)

CLIMBING CONTEST

SURVEY COURSE

CAVE RALLY (ENTRANCES ONLY)

GEOLOGY FIELD TRIP

SKTF CONSERVATION PRESENTATION

SERA 2010 TIME TO STRUT YOUR STUFf! In conjunction with SERA 2010 Cave Carnival, Sewanee Mountain Grotto will be hosting the Grundy Strut Parade. Its never too early to start planning your prize winning costume or grotto float! (details and judging criteria to come later)

SERA 2010 Best Cave Dog
Allow your pet to Strut their Stuff in the first annual Pooches on Parade! (details and judging criteria to come later)

FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN! Please consider entering your favorite salsa in The Best of SERA Salsa Competition. We will be judging two categories, home preserved salsa and freshly prepared salsa. (details and judging criteria to come later)

ATTENTION ALL BREWMEISTERS! Bring on your best brew! Bragging rights and a blue ribbon are at stake!(details and judging criteria to come later)

THE BEST OF SERA BROWNIE COMPETITION
(details and judging criteria to come later)

Games like sand volleyball, corn hole, etc. will be available for those who wish to play on site.

No organized trips are planned for the things listed below. These are self led activities.

One of TAG’s finest landowners, Charlie Smith, passed away April 21, 2009 at the age of 75. Charlie was a kind and gentle mountain man who worked as a heavy equipment operator for many years and as a farmer his entire life. No matter the time of year, he always sported Liberty overalls and left his door wide open for cavers and other visitors. Charlie graciously allowed cavers to access his property in Fiery Gizzard Cove, Tennessee and visit TAG classics such as Solution Rift, Hermit Cave and Sawmill Well. No matter how much work had to be done on his farm, Charlie always made time for cavers to pull up a chair on the front porch and enjoy life. He made cavers from every state feel welcome and always put our interests in exploration, discovery and survey paramount to his work. It didn’t hurt that he kept a few cases of liquid story-teller on hand.

Charlie’s love of caves and discovery led him to Mexico in the early 1990s when he drove TAG cavers Teresa Williams Benamy and Jon Brown to visit Sotono de las Golindrinas and other classic Mexican pits. They drove in his red Dodge pick-up truck that proudly displayed the name of his farm, “Smith’s Possum Farm” as well as bumper sticker that stated, “Eat More Possum.” Although he didn’t cave, Charlie made new friends in every village and left a memorable impression on the Mexican cavers. He always enjoyed sharing stories about his first and only trip out of the country.

When the Chattanooga Grotto did their roadside cleanups along the road to his cove he would drive by real slow, counting, and come back with breakfast biscuits for everyone there. It was not in his nature to let anyone, especially his “caver family,” work and not be rewarded. When asked about hosting the annual Chattanooga Grotto picnic, Charlie’s usual reply was, “Why did you even bother to ask? All you had to do was tell me when it was so that I’d make sure to be here for it!”

While attending the TAG Fall Cave-In one year Charlie asked if he could help out at the Munchie Stand. “Sure, glad to have you on board!” He strolled back to his truck, put on a clean hat and took the next order. Everyone who stepped up to the windows was smiling and laughing with Charlie. Of course, who could keep a straight face while reading his hat, “Smile if you’re not wearing panties!”

In 1997, Charlie received the Larry S. Adams Landowner Appreciation Award from the Southeast Region Association (SERA) of the NSS for his outstanding stewardship of caves in the Fiery Gizzard area of Tennessee. Articles in NSS Convention Guidebooks featured him as one of TAG’s most generous and beloved landowners. Charlie also starred as a caver friendly landowner in the video “T.A.G!: You’re It” which was shown at the 1998 NSS Convention. His love for cavers was evidenced in the film as he talked about continuing his daddy’s friendship that started with the cavers who discovered and pushed Solution Rift. Over the years, while Charlie never got beyond the entrance sink or the lower entrance beyond the dam, he knew the cave like the back of his hand from photos that Marion O. Smith and Wm Shrewsbury gave him, along with the stories shared by the countless cavers who visited his classic TAG caves. No trip to TAG was complete without stopping in, dropping a few pits on his property and spending some time with him over a few drinks or going to town for supper.

Charlie was also an honorary life member of the Sewanee Mountain Grotto, which was reinstated after a group of friends met in his basement one summer evening. The Sewanee Mountain Grotto would celebrate his birthday every year and despite our pleas to help out around the farm, he always replied that the best birthday present he could receive would be to have all the cavers enjoy themselves underground. Although it is always difficult to say goodbye to a friend, the Sewanee Mountain Grotto hosted a Memorial at Charlie’s farm on July 11, 2009 to celebrate his life. Rather than have a formal ceremony, we knew what Charlie would have wanted us to do--go caving on his farm and have fun.

We were fortunate to have Charlie in our lives and appreciate the time he made for all of us to be part of his life. His kindness and generosity are paramount to none and he will always be missed. Charlie is survived by his children, LeAnne Smith, Charles Roy Smith and Troy “Wolfee” Mount who carry on the legend of Charlie’s generous hospitality towards cavers. They have some really big overalls to fill…